


Lad, a Ponderosa Dog

by BettyHT



Series: Toni [8]
Category: Bonanza
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-03
Updated: 2018-10-03
Packaged: 2019-07-24 15:15:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16177715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BettyHT/pseuds/BettyHT
Summary: The 8th and last story in the Toni series.  This is a more fun story than any of the others.  Toni doesn’t believe Adam’s stories about their dog, but she should have.





	Lad, a Ponderosa Dog

Lad, A Ponderosa Dog

Chapter 1

At three years of age, AC, or Ace, as Joe was fond of calling him, was truly Adam Cartwright's son displaying many of the same personality characteristics of his father. He had the same raw intelligence and curiosity. He was athletic and graceful in his movements. However, he had a deviousness and devilish sense of humor that his father had not managed until he was much older.

When Toni heard the crash downstairs and ran to the top of the stairs to see what had happened, her first thought was 'What has AC done now?' and what she saw was broken china on the floor and Adam lying on the floor rubbing the back of his head. AC was sitting on the bottom step laughing nearly hysterically at the sight, and he resembled Joe a lot more than his father at that moment. Benjy had a shocked look on his face and looked like he didn't know if he should laugh or perhaps cry. Their dog Lad was lying next to Benjy licking his lips or at least that's what it looked like.

"Adam, what happened? Are you all right?"

Adam nodded slowly regretting that instantly and stood up still holding the back of his head. Toni ran to get Rose and then went downstairs to her husband.

"You still didn't say what happened."

"That dog knocked me over, licked up my snack, and then laid in front of the fireplace as if it was the most natural thing in the world to do."

Toni looked over at Lad who just lounged there without moving as Benjy patted him, rubbed him, and placed a big kiss on his snout. The dog hardly seemed to breathe much less move.

"Lad? That dog only moves at one speed, and that would rival a glacier most of the time. What really happened?"

That tone of voice and that comment made Adam a little irritated with his wife. That dog had been trouble ever since he had arrived the day before. Hoss and his old friend Otis had stopped by their house. They had several young dogs Otis had said were sired by his dog Walter. Adam couldn't imagine Walter moving fast enough to sire anything but never knew Otis to lie. Although Otis' tall tales were in a category above anyone else's, he was an honest man. It was apparent that Hoss still had a few things to learn about being a parent because in front of the boys, Hoss announced they needed to find a home for those pups, and he thought that Adam would want one for the boys. At that point, Adam was lucky to get away with adopting only one of the dogs into his family. Forced into an impossible situation, Adam chose a male with a shiny coat. The dog looked healthy, seemed calm around the children, and at least there would be no litters of puppies to contend with in the future.

When Adam asked what the dog's name was, Otis said it was Chuck. Well Benjy and his slight lisp made that name unacceptable in mixed company. Benjy and AC ran around the dogs chanting Benjy's version of the name until Adam clamped his hand over AC's mouth, and Toni did the same to Benjy after quickly handing Rose off to Hoss. At least Hoss and Otis had the good sense not to laugh too loud. Adam and Toni knew that AC could pronounce Chuck, but he had obviously seen the looks on their faces with Benjy's version of the name and decided to go with it.

Toni was adamant. "Adam, the dog cannot have that name."

"Sweetheart, I had a professor at college who had two dogs who resembled this one, and he called them Lad and Lassie. So we could call him Lad."

"Oh, I like Lassie better."

"Toni, Lassie is for a female. Lad is for a male, and this is a male dog."

"All right. We can call him Lad."

Adam looked at the dog and called him Lad. The dog looked away. The boys ran up to the dog then as Adam and Toni released them. Adam said the dog's name was Lad now. It was hard to understand what Benjy was saying when he tried to say Lad but at least it wasn't a foul word. Toni nodded at Adam. Lad would work. Well, of course, except that Lad hardly moved and walked very slowly everywhere he went. He was house trained which was fortuitous because Toni and the boys insisted he come in the house.

Now that was what led to the present disaster except Toni seemed to think Adam was fabricating the story so he stomped off to his study and shut the door leaving Toni in charge of the three children and the dog. They had not hired anyone since Ben married Lily. They thought they had done enough for the matchmaking in the family although Ben hinted that he would like Joe married so he had asked if they could please look around for a pretty young cook preferably blond so that she would catch Joe's eye. However, the real result was that these three children were a handful for one person. Now that they were out of diapers, it was better but still a lot of work. Adam pouting in his study led to one perturbed Toni caring for all three children on a Sunday afternoon.

By three, Toni had had enough and knocked on the study door and opened it. Adam was leaning back in his desk chair with his eyes closed.

"Are you all right?"

"Yes, but I do have a headache. Did you want something?"

"It's not that important, but I was wondering if you could take the boys outside to play for a bit. They are getting to be a handful because it is hard for them to use up all their energy indoors and it is a very nice day outside."

"I can do that. I'm not getting much reading done here anyway."

Standing with a smile that said all was forgiven, Adam came to lead the boys outside and then waited patiently for Lad to make his way to the door and outside. Toni gave Adam three cookies for them to enjoy outside because she wouldn't have to worry about any mess the boys might make. Finally Lad strolled through the doorway. Rolling his eyes, Adam followed the dog out. Ten minutes later, Adam came to the front door covered in mud and asked Toni to help with the boys while he went around to the washroom from the outside so he wouldn't track any mud into the house.

As Toni followed Adam back out the door, she had the most basic of questions. "What happened?"

"I opened the napkin to hand out the cookies, and Lad jumped me from the back and pushed me down into the mud puddle next to the water trough."

Toni looked at Lad, and he was perfectly clean. She looked at the boys, and they were smiling at their father's predicament, but both were as clean as when they left the house. She gathered the boys and Lad to go into the house, and sent a parting salvo over her shoulder.

"I don't know what kind of crazy game you are playing, mister, but we are keeping that dog."

About to close the washroom door, Adam wanted to scream at that comment so he did. It scared the boys who could hear him before the front door closed so Toni was especially mad at him. He came into the house later wrapped in only a towel. Toni had been angry enough that she never brought him clean clothes. He stomped up the stairs as well as you can stomp when you are barefoot.

Dinner was a little tense. Adam was perturbed at Toni, and she was a little angry with him. They heard a knock on the door, and Adam went to answer it. The next thing that Toni saw was Adam backing up with his arms raised high. There was a man who had a rifle pointed at Adam's stomach. He was fairly short, dirty, bearded, and dressed in worn clothing.

"I'm a wantin' sum money. Where ya got it?"

"I have some in the safe in the study. I can get it for you."

"Go git it and don't do nothing funny or I kin shoot one a these here kids or da missus. She's a right purty one so I reckon you'd like ta keep her dat way."

Adam quickly walked to the study, opened the safe, and removed all the cash he had in there. It was only a few hundred dollars. He left the safe open and returned to the dining area.

"Put dat money on the table and then git these younguns and your missus over to the fireplace there. I'm hungry too and I'ma gonna have some a these vittles afore I go."

Adam and Toni complied and got their crying children behind them at the fireplace. The thief grabbed a chunk of ham and was about to take a bite when a brown missile flew through the air and chomped down on his hand and the ham. He yowled in pain and dropped the rifle as he tried to get away from Lad. Adam ran to him and grabbed the rifle pointing it at the man. Lad swallowed the ham and walked ever so slowly over to the fireplace where he collapsed on the rug. The thief knelt on the floor cradling his hand and wrist. Adam looked over at Toni, nodded, and smirked. He had his proof, and with his look to her, he dared her to question him about his version of events again.

 

Chapter 2

After Toni got the children safely settled on the settee, Adam asked her to go get Marcus and Charlie from the bunkhouse. When they arrived, Adam asked Charlie to get some rope, and he and Charlie tied up the would-be robber. Then Adam asked if he and Marcus could hitch up the buckboard. Once he had the would-be thief tied and the men had the buckboard outside, he and Marcus loaded him into the back of the buckboard as Charlie waited in the driver's seat. Marcus and Charlie offered to bring him into the jail. It was Sunday night, and Roy wouldn't be there anyway to take a statement. Adam agreed, and walked back inside to a very upset family.

"Adam, we have to do something. We can't have just anyone march in here with a gun and threaten our children."

"It was my fault. I let my guard down. I should have checked to see who was there before answering the door."

"Don't blame yourself. If it had been me, I would have probably done the same thing. And there no buts and no blame in this conversation. It happened. Now let's figure out what to do so it never happens again."

First of all, Adam described some building changes that would help. He could make a very small window in the door so that they could see who was outside. It would be high enough and small enough that it couldn't be used to fire a weapon into the house. He could extend the bunkhouse to connect to the washroom so that the only entrance into the washroom would be through the bunkhouse or the kitchen. The kitchen door that opened to the garden and the front of the house would be replaced with a solid door and a wooden bar for security. Inside shutters with wooden bars would be available to secure every window. They would start having a lit lantern hang on one of the porch lantern hangers every night until either Marcus or Charlie would turn it down before they went to bed.

Toni started to laugh then.

"We may be over-reacting! This will be a fortress, a castle, if we do all of this. Perhaps tomorrow we could discuss it after having a chance to calm down and think about it."

Adam smiled at her. His nature was to be protective, and tonight had shown him that there was still danger here and had shaken him. At the same time, he was glad that Lad had been there.

"Maybe we just need to throw food at any intruders and let Lad handle it."

Toni looked thoughtfully at the dog lying so calmly by the fireplace as her two boys patted, prodded, and otherwise did things that would have caused most dogs to react.

"I saw it, but I don't believe it. It just doesn't seem possible that he could take down a man just for food." Whoops. Then she looked at Adam with contrition. He had been telling the truth. There had been no games. "I'm so sorry about what I said to you. I should have believed you. I know you don't lie, and I should have known you wouldn't have tried to play some kind of trick to get rid of the dog. If you didn't want him here, you wouldn't have accepted him. Lad was like a tornado when that man had a ham steak. But he never bothers us at the dinner table and never comes in the kitchen looking for food. Again, I am sorry I didn't believe you when you said he knocked you down; twice."

Nodding, Adam accepted her apology, but then insisted that a kiss or two would show some sincere regret. She didn't mind, but it was time to get all three children in bed. Toni told the two boys to go upstairs, but Adam told them to wait on the landing as he disappeared into the kitchen. Toni picked up Rose and waited to see what he was up to. Adam emerged from the kitchen with a piece of ham on a plate and set it on the table. Lad just sat there but was obviously more alert than he had been although he didn't move. Adam waited a full minute and then picked up the ham and threw it high in the air. Lad was there before the meat hit the floor, gulped it down, and then lackadaisically meandered back to the fireplace rug and dropped down. The boys were clapping and laughing. To them, this was a great trick their dad had taught the dog. They couldn't wait for a repeat performance, but they were sent up to bed and would have to wait until tomorrow for more fun.

"Obviously, the dog is trainable, possibly even fairly intelligent. He may be what we need to use for security."

Toni looked dubious, but Adam seemed serious so she decided to give it some thought. The next day, Sheriff Coffee was there for their statement and was very amused by it. Then he asked them to tell him the real story. Before they could, they heard horses outside and went out to find that Ben, Hoss, and Joe were there.

"Hey, Adam, did you forget you work for a living?"

"I didn't forget, Joe, but we had a little excitement here last night. We were just telling the story to Roy."

Ben was relieved because first Adam's tardiness and then seeing Roy's horse tied up outside had made him nervous that something was wrong. Toni then recounted the whole story including the lead up stories with Adam the victim of the dog that ran like a bullet to food. Joe and Hoss were laughing and couldn't stop. One look at Lad lying there and hardly seeming to breathe just cracked them up. Roy was amazed. She told the same story as Adam had so it appeared to be the truth. Joe wouldn't let it go though.

"Nah, c'mon now, Adam's just getting clumsy in his old age and now he wants to blame the poor dog."

That and other comments began to irritate Adam. Toni saw the look and walked into the kitchen. When she came out, she had her hands behind her back, and winked at Adam when he looked at her. Then she nodded toward the mud puddle by the trough. Adam had not yet fixed a leak in it so there was a perpetual puddle there. Catching on to what she had in mind, he began to act very angry and advanced slowly on Joe who backed up toward the puddle. As he got near it, Toni tossed a chunk of last night's ham to him.

"Here, Joe!"

By reflex action, Joe caught it and then stood with a quizzical expression for just a second. It might have been longer, but he got hit in the chest by Lad's front paws as his arms went up in the air and Lad latched onto the ham piece. They landed in the puddle with Lad on top of Joe. Lad sauntered away and swallowed his prize. All the mud had splashed out sideways so the dog was perfectly clean. Joe's whole backside was covered in mud though. As he tried to stand, his hands, knees, and feet got muddied as well. Toni walked over to her husband, and she and Adam theatrically shook hands. Then Toni took a bow. Everyone except Joe was laughing by then and were amazed by the speed at which Lad could move when he decided to do so. The boys liked this new trick even more. Even Rose clapped her hands.

Hoss was actually pleased. "Well now, dadburnit, don't that beat all. Otis told me that Lad there was the smartest of the bunch. Walter is gonna be tickled pink when I tell him how he done saved the family already."

Leaning on the corral fence, Adam smirked at Joe who was trying to rub away some of the mud caked on his behind. "Joe, getting a little clumsy there as you get older?"

Joe scowled and got only chuckles from the others.

"Son, I think you earned that one. Now, let's ride home and get you cleaned up."

Roy had a great set of stories to tell when he got back to town. Joe wasn't going to be happy about his starring role in the last one of those. Hoss told the same set of stories the next time he saw Otis. And at the dining table that night, some very nice bits of food were tossed to Lad who had proven himself to be a member of the family after only a few days.

 

Chapter 3

Green with dark stripes by the eyes making them look a bit like bandits, little Sierra tree frogs were a favorite of the Cartwright twins. AC and Benjy loved to watch them, catch them, chase them, and listen to their trills. Unfortunately, their dog Lad seemed to be inordinately irritated by them and would chase them at every opportunity. So if the boys wanted to enjoy playing with the frogs, Lad had to be in the house or locked in the stable. Locked in the stable, he howled for every minute he was imprisoned. As for keeping him in the house away from the frogs, Toni didn't think she should have to mind the dog if the boys were outside playing. It made for a difficult situation, but AC had been thinking and planning and had come up with a solution.

To AC's mind, the little frogs needed water and a place indoors where Lad would not bother them. He couldn't think of a better place than the second floor washroom their father Adam had recently finished building. As soon as they were freed from the house in the morning and under the watchful eyes of Marcus and Charlie, AC and Benjy chased after and caught some frogs. They were little things so the boys decided to keep only the largest ones that were about two inches long each. They had three such frogs and hid them in their pockets when it was time to go in for lunch.

Once inside, AC and Benjy asked for permission to wash their hands in the new upstairs washroom. Volunteering to wash should have been Toni's first clue that something was amiss. Toni's mind was on the difficulties of potty training Rose who seemed to have no desire to avoid dirty diapers and would actually hide to get away from her mother's insistence that she sit on the potty to go. When the boys volunteered to wash, it was one less worry for Toni or so she thought.

After lunch, Toni had AC and Benjy pick out a simple book to read. Early afternoon was a scheduled quiet time. Toni was teaching the boys to read as well as play simple games such as checkers. AC was already able to read simple text and Benjy could play Hoss or Joe in checkers almost well enough to win. Both boys were showing a high intelligence and their almost constant use of 'why?' reminded their grandfather of Adam as a child. This was also when Rose needed to have a nap or she was as grouchy as an old she bear guarding her cubs or that's what Uncle Hoss said after having to take care of her one afternoon when she refused to nap for him.

Before putting Rose into bed for a nap, Toni took her upstairs to the washroom to try once more to get her to use the potty chair. Rose was agreeable to lowering her undergarments and sitting on the small chair. Suddenly as she sat, she got hit on the butt by a little Sierra tree frog that found itself locked in a small cavern by her action, and the little guy wanted out. Rose screamed and jumped up which released a stream of pee that went everywhere. It went on the floor, on the rug, and on Toni and then on the wall when Rose fell back onto her butt. Two more tree frogs were climbing up the walls and with Toni's sudden upset over Rose screaming and peeing everywhere, she saw them as giant insects and screamed herself. That made the two boys come running and as they raced into the room, they slipped on the pee and fell. Now Toni had three soiled children, a pair of shoes probably ruined by pee, and still had those giant insects crawling up the walls. And then Lad rushed in.

Lad started to jump up at the tree frogs that were climbing the walls. He was hampered in that the floor space was nearly covered by sobbing, soiled children and their hysterical mother. Downstairs Adam had come home from town hoping to grab a late lunch before heading back out to work probably until sunset on a new washroom upstairs at the Ponderosa. As he heard screams and sobbing from the upstairs, he raced up the stairs to the washroom. What he saw there caused him to bellow so loud it would have made Ben Cartwright, the master of bellowing, proud.

"What in hell is going on here?"

The use of profanity in front of the children was enough to provoke Toni out of her hysteria over the giant insects. "You will not speak that way in front of the children. The least you could do would be to offer to help."

"Help how? This is a madhouse!"

Toni pointed at Lad. "Get him out of here!"

Grabbing Lad by his collar, Adam led him down the stairs. He struggled to try to run back to the washroom but was no match for his angry master who locked him in the downstairs washroom after loudly admonishing him not to howl about it. It was one of those situations that Lad was cowed by the ferocity of his master's look and tone of voice. He wisely decided to lie on the floor and take a nap. Adam returned to the upstairs washroom them and asked in a not so nice tone of voice what he should do next. Toni was stripping down the children and asked more politely for help. Toni and Adam got the soiled clothing off their children and washed them before sending the boys to their rooms to get clean clothing. Adam took Rose to her room to dress her as Toni slipped off her shoes and did her best to clean them. As Adam tucked Rose in for her nap and soothed her to sleep, Toni turned her attention to the floor and walls of the washroom which needed washing. The boys came back to the washroom to tell her they were dressed and wisely stood there waiting for her instructions. She told them to go downstairs and settle down with their books until she was done. As she cleaned up the washroom, she realized the insects were tree frogs and got a better understanding of what had probably happened. Once Rose was asleep, Adam came back to the washroom and collected the three tree frogs.

"Now how did these get in here? They can climb but there was no opening for them to enter."

"AC!"

They said it almost simultaneously and Adam headed downstairs to talk to his precocious son about respect for animals. Then he remembered that he had locked Lad in the downstairs washroom and knew he had to take care of him first. He sighed. Being a father was a learning experience, and that dog had certainly complicated things. As he walked outside with Lad to clean him up, Lad licked his hand and looked up at him with those adoring eyes. He couldn't help it. He scratched his head.

"I know, boy. You had no idea what a mess that was. I wish my sons were as innocent as you, but I'm afraid I have many more adventures in store with those boys."


End file.
